Does the Internet Contribute to Innovation and Progress?

Paul Nihoul

Abstract

The title proposed for this paper consists of three words: “internet”, “innovation” and “progress”. Among these words, there is no necessity to long discuss the first one - what the internet is, how it was born, what role it plays in modern society. Other, more specialized studies, are addressing that topic. By contrast, the words “innovation” and “progress” raise interesting questions. They have given rise to myriads of books in various disciplines. To avoid any form of duplication, I have been asked to address, more specifically, the following question: can the Internet be considered a source of innovation and progress? That question will be examined in a peculiar perspective. (a) Having a legal education, I will seek to analyze the issue from a legal perspective. (b) The approach will be international as we are engaged in Europe in a progressive integration of national economies and as exchanges are increasingly become global at worldwide level. (c) Competition law and consumer protection will have, in my approach, a particular importance as the conference takes place at a forum organized by the Italian competition authority, in charge of policies in these areas.